here and now

There's a trap we often fall into when musing about all the things that came before us and all the things we have yet to see. We want to live long enough to see what our children make of this world and see what kind of legacy we've left for the future generations of our families. We read or hear stories of a world that existed long before we were born and wonder what it would be like. Sometimes that wonderment breeds a longing for a different time. Sometimes it makes us disenchanted with the world that exists now as if we were such a wrong fit. I've done it before. I've said that I was born too late. As a literary snob whose life is permeated with music and cinema and art, I want to know all the people who existed well before my time and understand what they did to create the works I appreciate most. I think of the lives of ancient civilizations when life was more simple or moments in history that flourished under art, expression and education.

The reality is that the person who appreciates all of that, who muses about a world that's been around much, much longer than I have, is a person that was created, not born. That creation is the product of all those past musings, present observations and future dreams. I am who I am only because I was born in this time, in this world, in this present. I would be different, observe differently, believe differently and behave differently had I been born in another time, in another place. I have the benefit of learning from great minds that expired before me, of the legacy they left behind, of the stories my elders share with me, the world around me now and the future I see in my children's eyes.

"The best place to be is here. The best time to be is now." - Wyld Stallyns.

Appreciate your life, your presence and your mark on this world. Understand that part of the reason for your love of the world that existed before you were born is a direct result of the person you've created. And that person lives now. There sure as hell ain't nothing wrong with that.